Rain continued falling softly across the battlefield.
But now the silence felt worse.
Anna noticed the way all three of them had reacted to those two words.
Silver eyes.
Renji looked confused more than anything else, but Orochi had gone completely still. Even Kitsune stopped joking.
And Shou Feng
he looked genuinely shaken.
Anna slowly pulled her arm away from his grip.
"Can someone tell me what's going on?"
Nobody answered immediately.
The giant eye above the sky blinked again.
A deep vibration rolled across the mountains, making the wet ground tremble beneath them.
Several soldiers stumbled back in fear.
Still, Anna's attention remained on Shou Feng.
Because she had never seen him like this before.
Not cold.
Not calm.
Worried.
Finally Renji broke the silence.
"Okay, I'm officially tired of everybody speaking like they're in the middle of some ancient prophecy." He pointed between Orochi and Shou Feng. "Either explain things or I start throwing people off cliffs."
Normally the comment would've made Anna laugh.
But nobody was in the mood anymore.
Orochi looked toward the sky before speaking quietly.
"There was once a ruler before the gods."
Anna frowned.
"What do you mean before the gods?"
"Heaven was different then," Orochi replied. "There were no kingdoms. No celestial court. No balance."
The wind around them grew colder.
"There was only one being powerful enough to control the gates between worlds."
Anna's chest tightened slightly.
"The woman you saw?" she asked softly.
Orochi nodded once.
"She disappeared thousands of years ago."
"No," Shou Feng said suddenly.
Everyone looked at him.
His silver eyes remained fixed on Anna.
"She was sealed."
A strange chill crawled through Anna's body.
"Why?"
This time Shou Feng hesitated.
And that hesitation scared her.
Finally he answered quietly.
"Because she tried to open the gates."
The battlefield fell silent again.
Above them, the crack in the sky spread slowly wider, faint silver light pouring through it like something breathing behind the heavens.
Anna wrapped her arms around herself.
"This is insane."
"You're handling it surprisingly well," Kitsune muttered weakly from the ground.
Anna looked down at him.
"You're literally dying and still being sarcastic."
"It's part of my charm."
Renji crouched beside Kitsune suddenly, examining the chains around him.
"Hm."
Kitsune narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"What?"
Renji grinned.
"I have an idea."
"That smile makes me nervous."
"As it should."
Before anyone could stop him, Renji grabbed the divine chains tightly.
Blue energy exploded from his hands instantly.
The battlefield shook violently.
Kitsune screamed.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"Possibly!"
The chains cracked slightly before a blast of energy threw Renji backward across the muddy ground.
Anna jumped.
"Renji!"
He groaned dramatically while laying flat on his back.
"Okay," he coughed, "terrible idea."
Even in the middle of chaos, Anna let out a small laugh.
A real one.
And for one brief second
everything felt almost normal again.
Shou Feng noticed.
His expression softened slightly watching her laugh.
Anna caught it immediately.
And suddenly the air between them felt heavier.
Too many unfinished things existed there now.
Too many emotions neither of them fully understood.
Before anyone could speak again, a soldier suddenly came running down the mountain path toward them.
"My lord!"
He stopped in front of Shou Feng breathing hard.
"The eastern barrier collapsed!"
Shou Feng's expression darkened immediately.
"How many entered?"
"We only saw one creature, but"
A scream echoed from the kingdom above.
Everyone froze.
Another scream followed.
Then another.
Anna's heart dropped.
The soldiers around them immediately panicked.
"It got inside the kingdom!"
Renji cursed and stood instantly.
"No no no, that's very bad."
Without another word, he sprinted toward the mountain path.
Orochi followed silently.
Shou Feng turned toward his soldiers sharply.
"Protect the civilians. No matter what happens, do not let it reach the inner palace."
The soldiers quickly obeyed.
Anna immediately looked at Kitsune.
"We can't leave him here."
Shou Feng nodded once.
Then, without hesitation, he bent down and broke the remaining chains himself using brute force and divine energy together.
The metal shattered across the ground.
Kitsune blinked.
"Huh. So you could do it."
"I weakened the seal earlier," Shou Feng replied coldly.
"Wow. Secret kindness. Disgusting."
Anna quickly helped Kitsune stand, wrapping one of his arms over her shoulder.
He was heavier than she expected.
And shaking.
"Can you walk?"
"Physically? Barely. Emotionally? Absolutely not."
Despite the situation, Anna smiled faintly again.
Then another roar shook the mountains.
This one was closer.
Much closer.
The group immediately looked upward toward the kingdom.
Something massive moved between the palace buildings.
Anna's stomach twisted.
It looked almost human
except far too tall.
Its body was made of dark smoke and bone-like armor, with glowing silver cracks spreading across its skin.
People screamed while running through the streets.
The creature moved slowly at first.
Then suddenly grabbed an entire tower.
And crushed it.
The sound echoed through the mountains.
Anna stared in horror.
"That thing came through the crack?"
Orochi's face had hardened completely now.
"It's only a scout."
Nobody liked the sound of that sentence.
Shou Feng stepped forward.
"I'll handle it."
"You alone?" Renji asked.
Shou Feng looked toward the monster tearing through the kingdom.
"Yes."
But before he could move, Anna grabbed his wrist instinctively.
"Wait."
He looked down at her hand.
Then at her.
"You're injured," she said quietly.
Blood still stained the side of his armor from earlier.
Shou Feng barely glanced at it.
"It's nothing."
"That's literally what I said earlier," Anna muttered.
Something faint almost appeared in his expression.
Almost a smile.
But it disappeared quickly.
Another explosion echoed from the kingdom.
Shou Feng's face hardened again.
"I need to go."
Anna's grip loosened slowly.
For some reason, fear rose sharply inside her chest.
Not fear for herself.
For him.
She hated that feeling.
Hated how complicated everything had become.
Shou Feng stepped away from her.
Then vanished upward toward the kingdom in a burst of silver light.
The moment he disappeared, Renji looked at Anna with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, you are absolutely doomed."
Anna frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"You look at him like your brain stops functioning."
"My brain functions perfectly fine."
"Sure."
Kitsune raised a weak hand.
"As the emotionally damaged fox here, I'd like to say this situation is becoming painfully obvious."
Anna glared at both of them.
"Can we focus on the giant monster destroying the kingdom?"
"Fair point."
A loud crash interrupted them again.
The creature had reached the inner palace now.
From the distance, flashes of silver light exploded around it where Shou Feng fought alone.
The entire sky flickered with power.
Anna watched anxiously.
Too anxiously.
Renji noticed immediately but didn't tease her this time.
Because even he looked concerned now.
Then suddenly
the giant eye in the sky moved again.
But this time
it wasn't looking at Anna.
It was looking at Shou Feng.
The whisper returned inside Anna's head instantly.
Protect him.
Anna froze.
"What?"
The voice became louder.
If he dies, the gate opens.
Cold fear rushed through her.
Without thinking, Anna started running toward the kingdom.
"Anna!" Renji shouted behind her.
But she kept going.
The streets above were chaos.
People screamed while soldiers fought smaller shadow creatures crawling from cracks in the air itself.
Buildings burned.
The storm had become violent again.
Anna pushed through the streets desperately searching for Shou Feng.
Then she saw him.
At the center of the ruined palace courtyard.
The giant creature towered above him now, roaring furiously while silver energy exploded around them.
Shou Feng stood alone beneath it, breathing heavily.
Blood ran down one side of his face.
And for the first time
he looked tired.
Really tired.
The monster slammed its massive arm downward.
Shou Feng dodged barely in time.
The entire courtyard shattered from the impact.
Anna's heart pounded painfully.
"Shou Feng!"
His head snapped toward her instantly.
And that single moment of distraction
was enough.
The creature moved too fast.
A massive claw shot toward him from the side.
Anna's eyes widened.
"LOOK OUT!"
Without thinking, she summoned the wind.
A violent storm exploded from her hands, slamming into Shou Feng hard enough to throw him out of the creature's path.
But the force dragged Anna forward instead.
Straight toward the monster.
The creature opened its mouth wide.
Silver light gathered inside it.
Anna realized too late
it was going to hit her directly.
Then suddenly
strong arms wrapped around her waist.
The world spun violently.
A blast exploded behind them.
Heat and debris crashed through the courtyard.
Anna shut her eyes instinctively.
When everything finally stopped
she realized she was being held tightly against someone's chest.
Shou Feng.
His arms were wrapped protectively around her while pieces of burning stone fell around them.
His breathing was uneven now.
One hand pressed against the back of her head carefully, shielding her from the debris.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Anna slowly looked up.
Their faces were inches apart.
Rain slid down his skin.
Silver eyes locked onto hers completely.
And for the first time since meeting him
Shou Feng looked terrified.
To be continued...